Distinguished by their bold stance, staggered tires hold a name that perfectly sums their performance, i.e., staggering.
Staggered tires can also be referenced as the staggered set-up. In these, the rear and the front tires are not of equal size. They are different in terms of sizing.
With a significant majority, staggered tires mostly have their rear tires with broader width. At the same time, the front tires are commonly narrower. This could also be the reason why your rear tires are wearing out much faster.
Staggered vs Squared Tires
Staggered tire setting is usually applied in sports cars to achieve enhanced handling, cornering, stability and traction. The improvements are specially made to work on dry pavements.
Square tire setting, on the contrary, means that the tires are of the same size on all four sides of the vehicle. This carries a bunch of benefits for the driver, which include reduction of understeer and balanced handling for most of the performance vehicles.
The choice between these setups depends entirely upon what you want, your car, your driving style, and your usage. There are some benefits which the squared setup harbours, i.e., longer tread life and some which the staggered setup can be host to.
Should You Rotate Staggered Tires?
Each wheel location experiences different rates and types of wear. In a front-wheel-drive vehicle, the front tires are subjected to additional torque and friction force when turning, accelerating, or braking. This leads to increased wear.
With regular tire rotation, you can extend the wear life on your tires by promoting even wear. Having even tread wear can also improve traction and handling performance, giving you a smoother ride and increasing your safety.
However, this might not be as easy when it comes to staggered tires. In most vehicles which the staggered tires are applied on and those which come in stock with the car, the manuals advise against it. But ending up using only half a tire would be a devastating experience as well.
Therefore, no matter how much limited the possibilities might be if they can be rotated and aren’t directional, they should be done so.
But this does translate to frequent mounting and dismounting and, if not done correctly according to the tires, complete replacement. Rotating them might not be cost-effective but it is worth it in the long run.
How and When To Rotate Staggered Tires?
Rotating tires in a staggered setting can get tricky. Considering that they aren’t directional tires, they can be turned from the right to the left side of the same axle. On the sidewall, they’ll be designated as such, usually with an arrow pointing toward the front of the car.
Nevertheless, you still wouldn’t be able to do that from the back to the front. Unlike square tires, staggered tires cannot be rotated in all directions. Staggered tires can only be turned sideways.
Although different for various tire sizes, the rear tires wear out faster than the front tires in most setups. Additionally, doing so will require the mounting and dismounting of tires, which will eventually rip you a nice hole in the pocket.
You will have to go through the replacement of tires now and then eventually. This is especially true for mighty rear-wheel-drive vehicles. In this case, the safest thing to do is to replace all four tires, even if the front tires are still in good condition. Staggered tires do not allow front-back rotation as it would lead to severe traction loss.
Different tires come with specific miles at which staggered tires should be rotated. Still, on average, staggered tires should be rotated at 5000-10,000 miles to promote even wear and conserve the handling and cornering capabilities.
On average, staggered tires last for 30,000 miles, whereas some premium brands can go as far as 50,000 miles. We suggest you change your tires as soon as they wear to 2/32. This will ensure the prevention of any accidents or mishaps associated with loss of tracking during cornering as a prologue.
Benefits of Staggered Tires Rotation
Rotating your tires can seem like a drag, both to your time as well as your bank. But many times, if only so the tires can keep delivering a “staggering” performance, rotating them would do loads of good. Here, we have listed a few reasons as to why you should rotate your tires:
Even Wear
Staggered tires wear much faster than tires in the square setting because of more traction associated with higher speeds. With a regular rotation of tires, your tires wear evenly.
We suggest you rotate your staggered tires every 5000-10,000 miles so you don’t keep driving with uneven tires. This not only reduces your tire’s life but also puts you at risk of losing control.
Tread life
By rotating your tires regularly, you can prolong your tires’ life up to a significant extent. By promoting even wear and rotating tires, your vehicle performs better and gives you extra miles on that staggered set. This can save you a few extra bucks and make sure your car enthusiasm doesn’t burn down your bank.
Fuel Efficiency
With regular tire replacement, you can reduce the workload of the vehicle. This results in uniform wear, allowing you to have superior traction, cornering, handling, and fuel efficiency.
